A unique feature of the building is the
illuminated box underneath the lobby’s
monumental staircase—the box serves
as cane detection, in lieu of railings, in
order to meet ADA standards. Another
interesting feature to the building is the
addition of pinup space on upper floors, to
allow occupants to pin things to the walls.
The areas also serve as a natural space for
meetings and discussion.
Another concern for the designers was
to create a space so that people can work
anywhere. Technology allows researchers to
move outside the office and the laboratory;
therefore, in addition to the busy central
hub space, quite zones were also installed to
give building occupants choices of where to
go. This is especially important as the next
generation enters the healthcare workforce.
Houston is a huge medical hub, and
home to dozens of hospitals and research
buildings. Therefore, the architects and
designers wanted to make the Zayed building
stand out.
“It has the benefit of being located on a
corner site so you have exterior exposure
from two sides. The buildings that surround
it are not quite as tall so it has the benefit of
standing up taller,” said Harper. “Because of
the intersection of the street there is more
green open space, so this building really
stands out as a beacon. It’s pretty effective
how many vision corridors there are to this
building on a pretty cramped site.”
“A lot of the existing older labs on campus
are a little more closed in,” said Harper.
“This one really displays the function of the
building to the exterior. At night when the
MD Anderson, and the designers and
architects of the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed
Al Nahyan Building, are optimistic for the
future—they are already planning to fit-out
the building for other purposes once cancer
is eradicated.
— MaryBeth DiDonna
Editor, Laboratory Design
www.labdesignnews.com
MD Anderson’s Zayed Building for Personalized Cancer Care is designed to fundamentally change the way research is done
at MD Anderson—it’s equally as bold as their mission “to make cancer history.” (Credit: Mark Herboth Photography).
www.JCILabPlanners.com
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Brian Dresser Photography